BANGOR, Maine — Bangor police confirmed Tuesday that their presence at a home on B Street in the Birch Hill Estates was connected to an investigation into circumstances related to the death of a child just two days before.
The child was brought to a local hospital Sunday morning with life-threatening injuries and died later that night, according to police.
Hospital staff reportedly contacted local police and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services shortly after the child arrived there for care, according to a news release issued Monday by Bangor police.
Police also said in the release that both agencies were involved in an investigation surrounding the death.
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to officials with Maine DHHS for details about the nature of the investigation, including whether there was concern about possible abuse, but a spokesperson for the agency declined to comment on the matter, citing confidentiality laws.
Nearby residents of the home where police were present Tuesday told NEWS CENTER Maine they recently observed "concerning behavior" coming from the property.
Members of the Bangor Police Department's Evidence Response Team spent several hours entering and surveying the home on B Street, and two evidence response vans were also present.
"Frequently, I would hear screaming, a man’s voice screaming, name-calling," Paul Jarnich, who lives next door to the house under investigation, said. "[It's] what I would consider verbally abusive."
Jarnich said his neighbors had two children, but he said he rarely saw them.
"Months and months would go by without seeing the kids," Jarnich said. "I saw a young boy mow the lawn, and that was the only time that I ever saw either of the children."
The investigation remains ongoing.